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Chapin HS parent traveling to football game dies in car accident

By Aaron Martinez / El Paso Times

Posted:
11/24/2013 12:31:21 AM MST

El Paso Independent School District officials decided to postpone travel for both Chapin and Bowie students and staff after a parent traveling to a game Saturday died in a weather-related car accident.

The parent of a Chapin football player died in an accident while traveling to the Saturday morning Chapin game in Amarillo, said Renee de Santos, spokeswoman for the EPISD.

The Amarillo Globe-News identified the player as Elijah Perales. According to the Globe-News, Perales was informed by his uncles and coaches after the game of his father's death in an auto accident near Tucumcari, N.M., on the way to the game Saturday morning.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of the parents of one of our Chapin High School students," EPISD Superintendent Juan Cabrera said. "Our thoughts are with the family during this time of sorrow and we pray for the recovery of the family members who remain in the hospital."

Chapin and Bowie football players, band members and staff will travel back to El Paso Sunday when road conditions are better, de Santos said. Arrangements are being made for grief counselors to be available when students return.

The region from Eastern New Mexico to Western Texas has been under a winter weather advisory with high winds, widespread snow and freezing temperatures. In the El Paso area, temperatures are expected to drop into the low 20s with a chance of one to three of a snow-rain mix Sunday, officials from the National Weather Service said.

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In the Amarillo area, three accidents occurred at about midnight Saturday on Interstate 40 outside of Vega, Texas, Texas Department of Public Safety Senior Trooper Chris Ray said. Three people died in one of the accidents and several were injured. Icy conditions on the road are believed to be a factor in the accidents, Ray said.

The first accident was when two tractor-trailer crashed into each other, Ray said. The initial accident cause other drivers to swerve out of the way. In total nine tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles were involved, Ray said.

Two of the deaths were people in the passenger vehicles and one pedestrian, Ray said. Several other people were injured in the crash and taken to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, Ray said. The accidents are still under investigation.

As Texas DPS continues to investigate the scene, conditions on the roads were still poor due to the light precipitation freezing on the road, Ray said.

The Texas Department of Transportation has that portion of I-40 under an ice and snow advisory. The area has been under a winter weather advisory since Friday with 2 to 5 inches of snow expected across the southern and central Texas Panhandle.

A winter cold front that moved across California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico has resulted in at least eight deaths, according to the Associated Press. The winter storm is moving east and expected to reach the Atlantic Coast by the middle of next week, the AP reported.

In New Mexico, state route NM-152 is closed due to winter weather conditions, according to officials from the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Interstate 10 between Lordsburg and Deming is under advisory for high winds and snow flurries. Interstate 25, state route NM-52 and highway US-60 are all on snow and black ice advisories, according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

In the El Paso area, temperatures are expected to drop into the low 20s with a chance of one to three of a snow-rain mix Sunday, officials from the National Weather Service said.

A portion of Montana Avenue between the El Paso county line to the New Mexico state line on US 63/180 was closed Saturday night due to snow and ice conditions, said Blanca Del Valle, spokeswoman for Texas Department of Transportation in El Paso.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249. Alex Hinojoas contributed to the report.